Switched
by Hunter6
Summary: Voldemort has a plan for Harry, a blood spell to make sure that he will never again be a threat but something goes wrong and Harry is switched. Can Harry adust to his new suroundings? he finds help in the most unlikely of places. In one Severus Snape
1. Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters; they belong to JK Rowling and Warner bro's. I am not making any money fro this and I am only using them for fun.  
  
Warning: This story contains SLASH if this bothers you then I suggest you don't read the story.  
  
Part one:  
  
Black eyes followed Harry as he entered the potions classroom. Harry looked none to pleased to be there, which was the way it had to be no matter how much it pained Snape for Harry to feel this way.  
  
Snape stood in front of the class. "Today you will be making a sleeping potion, and at the end of the lesson you will all be trying it out on your partner." He paused a moment to let his instructions sink in. "the instructions and ingredients are on page 165 of you potions text book, begin now." Snape walked down the centre isle of his dungeon to stand at the back of the room, from that position he cold keep a better eye on the students and since their backs were to him they couldn't tell who he was looking at, the result being that the had to work all the time.  
  
"I don't feel so great," Harry murmured to Ron.  
  
"No wonder, that git has been staring at you, like you carry the plague or something." Ron muttered, trying to get a laugh from Harry.  
  
"I'm serious, my scar. my scar hurts." Snape's head snapped up at the comment. Unknown to the pupils he had spelled his class room so that he could hear everything that went on, most of the time he never acted on what he heard. He didn't need to, they were scared enough of him as it was. Plus contrary to belief he didn't hate al his students, he was hard on them but that was for their own benefit. He only really hated one of his students, Draco, but ironically it was the only one he could not show his dislike of. Draco was too much like his father, whom he hated with a fiery passion, even more than he hated James Potter. But as with Draco Snape couldn't ever show his dislike of Lucius all part of Dumbledore's master plan it defeat Voldemort. To become a Death Eater he had to befriend them first.  
  
"Potter. Come here." Snape instructed. If he was right he needed to get Harry away from the rest of the class. From what he had just heard Snape didn't think he could be wrong, today was the day. "Come along Potter, I'll take you to the infirmary." He had no intention of taking him to the infirmary what he needed was to go to Dumbledore.  
  
"Hermione you will keep an eye on the class while I am gone." There was a hushed silence everyone was wondering what was going on, Snape was actually leaving a Grifindor in charge. And looking after Harry. Snape didn't bother to explain his actions; he knew what needed to be done. At what was needed was for Harry to be as far away from other people as possible.  
  
"Yes professor," Hermione answered immediately. Snape practically dragged Harry out of the room.  
  
"Potter, we are going to Dumbledore he has to know about your scar." Harry nodded mutely, then doubled over in pain. Snape looked down at Harry, there wouldn't be anytime to get to Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry, Harry you need to listen to me." For once using is first name. "I didn't choose to join the Death Eaters, Dumbledore asked me to, please remember that. Please." The urgency of Snape's tone got to Harry and he managed to focus even through the intense pain.  
  
"Why are you telling me this?" Harry gasped out. Snape opened his moth to reply but it was to late, Harry was gone. 


	2. familiar faces

Part two:  
  
Harry shook his head trying to clear it. He tried to remember what he was doing on the floor of one of the corridors in the dungeon. 'Oh yeh' he remembered that Snape had been taking him to see Dumbledore; he must have passed out on the way. He was sitting in the corridor but Snape was gone. He looked around trying to figure out where Snape could have gone; 'he wouldn't have just left.' Harry surmised, 'he sounded so worried before.' Harry looked around again, but there was nowhere for the Professor to have gone. 'Well something weird is going on' he thought to himself. Remembering how Snape was acting before he disappeared. 'Dumbledore had asked him to be a Death Eater. That was defiantly a surprise confession and why was he looking after me? He did seem awfully intent that I go to Dumbledore and I guess I really should tell him that my scar was hurting.' Harry mused.  
  
Harry slowly got to his feet, he had one killer of a headache, and he would have to go to Madam Pomfrey after seeing Dumbledore. He made his was slowly up to Dumbledore's office, walking lightly to avoid jarring his head. With a slight laugh he realised that it must have looked like how Snape walked. Harry's progress towards his goal was slow but steady and he didn't meet a soul, which was hardly surprising as it was during class time  
  
The door to Dumbledore's office was situated behind the statue or a gargoyle. Harry eyed it and he tried to figure out what the password would be. "Lemon drop" He ventured hesitantly, nothing.  
  
"Polo, Milky way, Wine Gum, Fruit pastels." He rattled off. Still nothing. In frustration Harry kicked the Gargoyle, it gave a muffled Squeal. Harry jumped back from the statue tripping over and landing on his ass.  
  
"Oh great, " Harry muttered, "I land up on my ass again."  
  
"Were you trying to see me?" The kindly voice of Albus Dumbledore asked Harry.  
  
"Yes sir, I. I need to talk to you. It is about my scar." Harry told him in a worried voice.  
  
"You had better come in them." Harry followed the headmaster up the steps. "Take a seat." He instructed. Harry looked round the office; it was just as he remembered it. His eyes fell on Fawkes, the phoenix was looking much better that it had the last time he had seen it.  
  
"Hello Fawkes" Harry murmured and the phoenix flew over and pecked at Harry affectionately. Dumbledore looked on with a thoughtful expression on his face.  
  
"Now dear boy, you will tell me who you are and what your scar has to do with anything?" Dumbledore calmly asked.  
  
******************  
  
Snape cursed, He really needed to tell Harry more before he disappeared but now Harry would just have to find is own way through things. Snape slowly sat down, He theorised that this would be the spot where HE would appear and Snape needed to get him to Dumbledore before anyone else saw him. A couple of second's later Snape's theory was proved correct and a person appeared on the ground beside him. The boy looked so much like Harry it was almost scary, but this was not Harry it was his father.  
  
"Potter. You will come with me now." Snape instructed. James looked at the man in front of him, he looked very familiar but he couldn't think who it could be. "Stop gawking at me like an idiot."  
  
"Who are you?" James asked, he had the distinct impression that something weird was going on. Snape sneered at James.  
  
"I am professor Severus Snape." Snape enjoyed the look on James's face; it was almost worth everything he had been through, almost but not quite.  
  
"No you're lying. Dumbledore would never make someone like you a professor." James said disbelievingly.  
  
"How dare you say such things to me? I am a teacher here and you will respect me or you will be punished. Severely" Snape snarled. Taking an immense delight in having so much power over Potter. James glared at Snape.  
  
"Potter, come with me NOW we are going to Dumbledore." Potter didn't look pleased to be following Snape's orders but he went, he needed to see Dumbledore to see if he could explain what the hell was going on.  
  
The pair stopped outside of Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Atomic Fire balls." Snape said to the Gargoyle and it moved aside letting Snape and James enter the room. Snape resented the indignity of having to use muggle sweet names as the password for the Headmasters office, particularly one as foolish as 'Atomic fire balls.'  
  
"Ah Professor, for what purpose do I owe the pleasure of your company." Albus asked. Instead of replying Snape just stood to one side allowing the headmaster to see James.  
  
"James?" Dumbledore asked. Snape nodded.  
  
"Harry has just disappeared, I trust that you remember where he went." Dumbledore nodded, not questioning the wording of what Snape had just said. Because remembered was the right way to put it, Harry was in the past.  
  
James listened to the transaction, realising that Snape must have told him the truth, he was a professor. Dumbledore had made someone like Snape into a professor; James felt intense pity on any student that had him as a teacher.  
  
"James my dear boy, I have something terrible important to tell you. You had better sit down. Snape stood to one side glaring at his old enemy. 


	3. Truth be Told

Authors note: I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed it makes me happy to know people are reading the stuff I right and even better to know that other people like reading it as much as I like writing it, so thanx guys (  
  
Part three:  
  
"I am Harry Potter." He told the professor thinking that Dumbledore must be joking around with him.  
  
"There is no Harry Potter at this school, there is only one Potter, a James." At that moment a teacher Harry didn't recognise burst into the room.  
  
"Professor Aqilina, I am a little busy. Can you come back later?"  
  
"But Headmaster, James has disappeared." She blurted out.  
  
Harry watched them intently; he had no idea what was going on. But he got the distinct impression that he shouldn't be here. Well not exactly, he shouldn't be here now would be more precise. Professor Aquilina looked at Harry.  
  
"James!" She exclaimed, "How did you get here? What happened to you head?" Harry remembered how much like his father he looked; this Professor must have thought they were the same person.  
  
"Professor it is alright I am dealing with the situation. Can you leave us alone now." She backed quickly out of the room. Shutting the door quickly behind her.  
  
"Well Harry you have some explaining to do." With that Harry launched into his life story, well the abbreviated version.  
  
Dumbledore looked intently at Harry. He had listened to entire tale without saying a word and now Harry waited to see what his reaction would be. Dumbledore gazed at Fawkes who nipped Harry lightly again as if to say, 'believe his story'.  
  
"Harry you have told me an amazing story, and if what you have said is true well, may Merlin help us all."  
  
"It's all true, believe me I wish it wasn't."  
  
"I believe you." He said kindly.  
  
"You do."  
  
"Yes, Fawkes would never like someone who was trying to deceive me." Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "So you have the new Phoenix feather Fawkes just donated. I was going to not give anymore after who got the last one but now I am so very glad I did." Harry smiled at Dumbledore. "Your arrival here has caused quite a number of problems dear boy most pressing of which is the need to make sure nobody knows that James has disappeared, if Voldemort was to find out well, that would be very bad indeed. There is only one thing we can do." Dumbledore paused a moment, "You have to pretend to be your father."  
  
**************  
  
"This can't be true." James stated after Dumbledore had finished explaining all bout James's past and about Harry.  
  
"I am afraid it is." how are you supposed to react when you are told you are going to die at the hands of an evil mad man. James put his head in his hands.  
  
"I don't know what to do." James almost cried. Meaning he didn't know what to do about Voldemort, but Dumbledore chose to ignore the question and answered another instead. What to do about Voldemort was something only James could decide. But Dumbledore hoped against hope that he would make the right decision, if he didn't Voldemort would survive and the whole world would be doomed. Dumbledore could not ask a mere boy to go to his death; he could never ask that it had to be his own decision. He glanced at Severus realising that he had double standards and he had indeed asked a student to do something that very nearly amounted to going to his death. 'My dear Severus I hope you will one day forgive me for what I have put you through." Dumbledore wished silently.  
  
"You must pretend to be Harry, the spell Voldemort used was flawed, working with blood is very powerful but it can be quite temperamental. He was trying to kill Harry but it just switched him with you. It also has a time limit on it, one year. You have to pretend to be your son for one year." James nodded, there was nothing else he could do, and he knew they couldn't run the risk of Voldemorte realising that Harry was gone.  
  
Snape looked at James, one year was going to seem like a terribly long time. But then he remembered that one-year could feel like no time at all. He closed his eyes slowly in case anyone noticed the tears welling up in them. One year was way to short a time to spend with your one true love.  
  
"Severus, I know I don't need to inform you how important it is that no one finds out that this is not Harry." Dumbledore said his eyes filled with sadness for his friend's pain.  
  
"You know I would do anything to keep 'the boy who lived' safe." Snape said curtly. Dumbledore nodded sadly.  
  
"I know. Now my dear boy" He addressed James. "We have to prepare you for the next year. First thing we need is the scar." 


	4. Scars

Part four:  
  
Harry looked into the bathroom mirror, the scar was gone. He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows, revelling in how different he looked with out its most prominent feature. Dumbledore had done a superb job of hiding it, Harry had no idea how he had done it but it worked wonders. Harry had just been released from the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey, a much younger version, had treated his sore head. Dumbledore had told Harry all he could about James's present but he didn't know everything, Harry prepared himself for an evening reading his fathers diaries.  
  
Harry lay on his father's bed, his bed now, in a Grifindor dorm room. He could hardly suppress a laugh, Dumbledore defiantly had a sense of humour, James' bed was exactly he same one that Harry had been given. It would make the little charade easier nothing would give him away like going too a different bed by mistake. Harry had pulled the curtains and was getting to know his father.  
  
"Jamie are you here." Sirius called. 'Well let the games begin' Harry thought to himself.  
  
"Hey Si" Which was what his father called him, "I'm in here, I wasn't feeling to great so I went to the infirmary."  
  
"But Jamie you just disappeared. Professor Aqilina was shiting herself. Wondering where you had gone." Harry gave a small laugh.  
  
"In my haste to get to the infirmary I guess I accidentally magicked myself there." Thanking Merlin that Sirius had never read Hogwarts a History and didn't know that aperation and all such forms of transport didn't work within Hogwarts grounds. "Plus I wanted to get out of Potions as quick as I could, who wants to stay there longer than needed." Sirius laughed,  
  
"Yeh you are right, quite an impressive trick you did there, you nearly made Snape fall of his seat. On moment you were sitting next to him and the next you were gone, the look on his face was priceless." Harry remembered from the diaries that Snape was partnered to James in Potions, did this professor have some sort of a mental instability to put to people together who hated each other, then Harry remembered Snape, who tended to take great delight in putting Harry with Malfoy.  
  
"Anything I can do make sure that life doesn't go smoothly." Harry jumped to his feet and gave a mock bow.  
  
"That is the marauders way." Si smiled wickedly and Harry felt a flutter in his chest, he was a marauder even if it was as his father, he was one of the most infamous groups of pranksters in Hogwarts history. Famous for entirely their own merit and not because of some stupid scar. "We should go down for dinner now, if you are feeling better, Reme and Peter were worried, they had wanted to come up as well but I told them that if you were very poorly you would only want to see my handsome face, theirs would just make you worse." Harry laughed, it must have sounded forced because with the mention of Peter, Harry realised that he would have to act like Peter wasn't the bastard that helped murder his family. By far the hardest thing he would have to do.  
  
"Well we can't leave them waiting can we, we have to show them the tales of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Harry instantly regretted saying it, because in only a few years' tales of James' death would be told far and wide. But this must have been something James would have said because Si nodded in agreement never suspecting that the person beside him was not really his best friend but his godson.  
  
*********************  
  
"You have a much easier job than Harry," Dumbledore told James, "We knew this would happen and have prepared a potion that will give you Harry's memories so you can play him fairly easily, but Harry he has no such help he has to go on intuition." James nodded, looking into the mirror that the headmaster had conjured in front of him, the scar on his forehead made him look exactly like the picture of Harry that Dumbledore had shown him. He was having a hard time dealing with the situation, finding out he was to be killed by Voldemorte that he has a son who is the saviour of the word and then having to pretend to be that son, well it was a major mind fuck to put it lightly.  
  
It had been a couple of hours since he had drunk the potion. He thought over Harry's life, his son's life. He had had a shit time of it. 'Those good for nothing muggles need to be taught a lesson.' James thought to himself. There were some memories that James had almost cried over, Cedric's death, and the fact that Harry actually remembered James' own death. That alone was almost worse than knowing that you are going to die, knowing that it is going to haunt your son for life that was what really hurt. James lay on Harry's bed, noting that it was the same one that he had. He was trying to process the memories, work through them just in case there was anything that would cause an extreme reaction. It was a good thing that he did.  
  
James sat up dead straight, 'they had put Sirius in Azkaban, how could they do such a thing? And it was because of me. They thought that Sirius was the person who betrayed them, But Sirius was my best friend he would never in a million years do something like that. But then the real traitor was also one of my best friends.' James thought sadly. He didn't understand how Peter could do this to him, Peter betrayed him. James spared a thought to Harry who would be having to deal with Peter now, pretending that he didn't know that Peter was a traitorous bastard.  
  
There was a sound of feet outside the dorm room, for a moment James thought it would be Si but them realised that it couldn't be, Si was on the run because of wormtail.  
  
"Hey Harry, you feeling better?" Ron called from just outside the curtained off area.  
  
"Yeh Ron, I'm fine now. But since it was almost dinnertime I decided that it wasn't worth going back to class. Though of course I did have a burning desire to sit through History of Magic." Ron giggled.  
  
"I bet you did, well ya didn't miss anything interesting. Except for Hermione taking potions. That was defiantly something to see. She was great at it. But. it was weird of Snape to run of like that."  
  
"Well Snape is always weird,"  
  
"So you don't know why he took you off like that?"  
  
"Nope" and it was the truth James had no idea why Snape would care about Harry, from all the memories it seemed like Snape hated Harry. For that matter, he had no idea why his sudden arrival had not shocked the greasy bastard. The only reason he could think of would be that Snape had been told what was going to happen, but why Snape and none of the other teachers James did not know.  
  
"Oh well, who are we to fathom out the mysteries that are Snape." James nodded in agreement.  
  
"It's just about time for dinner, lets make our way down and meet Hermione." James said.  
  
"Yeh, good idea. I'm starving." Ron said in agreement as he walked out the door. James followed behind smiling; he had passed the first meeting. Maybe he would actually be able to pull this off. 


	5. Pranks and Polyjuice

Author's note: I forgot to say before but the story is set after the Christmas holidays, of 5th year. So it is sometime in January. I also changed a bit of Chapter three, instead of Six moths the spell now lasts for a year, this is because I just realised that it would make any future relations between Sev and Harry illegal when he got back, so this will take him well into his 6th year and over the legal age of consent.  
  
Here is an Answer to the Question as to why Harry wasn't told about the switched thing. Well Sev didn't tell him well would Harry have believed him? I don't think he would have. And Dumbledore didn't say anything because he was trying to preserve the time line.  
  
Part five:  
  
Harry entered the great hall, he glanced around. The hall itself seemed the same but Harry never appreciated how much the pupils themselves added to the 'feel' of the place. The Grifindor table was filled with unfamiliar faces something that he hadn't felt since his sorting.  
  
"Hey Jamie." A much younger and healthier looking Remus called. Harry smiled at him. Next to Remus sat the betrayer Harry had a hard time not glaring at him but he managed to force a smile. Harry took a seat next to Remus and Si sat on Harry's other side. This must have been the normal seating arrangement because no one said a thing about where Harry chose to sit.  
  
"Jamie what happened to you?" Reme asked. Harry pulled a face.  
  
"Urgh. I have already explained it all." He said cheerfully, "Si you tell them." With that Si launched into a highly dramatised version of what had really happened, involving, somehow, a dragon, a damsel in distress and Severus Snape. Harry laughed. But found his eyes drawn to the Slytherin table where a much younger Snape sat. He could hardly keep his jaw from dropping Snape was, for lack of a better word, hot. His long black hair fell around his face in a silky mass. The face that Harry had remembered being sallow was a beautiful ivory. Even the scowl that was on his face was gorgeous. 'Harry James Potter, you will get a grip on yourself' he told himself sternly, but a wicked little voice in his head muttered 'but you would like to get a grip on someone else though wouldn't you.'  
  
"Well that's Si's version and since you all know him you will also no not to believe any of what he just said." Harry said mockingly, trying to cover up his distraction, he would not allow himself to be distracted by Snape of all people. Reme and Peter laughed at the statement while Si pouted, pretending to be angry.  
  
"He's got you there Si." Reme said between burst of laughter, Si agreed reluctantly and smiled.  
  
Harry watched the marauders; he had never seen them act this way before. They all seemed so comfortable with each other, so happy. Remus didn't have the shadows under his eyes that Harry remembered, Sirius was so very full of energy something that all those long years in Azkaban had robbed him of and Peter, Peter seemed to revel in the others company.  
  
"Jamie, we have to think up something to do. The people are getting complacent we need to shake them up a bit." Si whispered. Harry smiled wickedly; Fred and George had played enough pranks in all the years Harry had been at Hogwarts to keep the rest of the Marauders entertained for months.  
  
"I do have one idea..."  
  
Harry stood next to Si as they waited outside of Professor Aquilina's room huddled together under his invisibility cloak. He couldn't believe that the greatest pranksters of all time hadn't thought of using Polyjuice. But then of course none of them really did like potions.  
  
"Jamie, how do you know this will work?" Si asked. Harry almost sighed he couldn't tell him that he had made this potion before an that they had snuck into the Slytherin common room, though that feet in itself would probably impress them greatly, so he settled for a partial truth.  
  
"A friend told me."  
  
"Who?" Sirius intergraded. Harry smiled.  
  
"Now you know I can't tell you that." Harry winked as if to imply that he had got the information using less than honourable means. Si smiled knowingly and left it at that.  
  
The Professor finally left and Harry and Sirius slipped inside. Harry looked around noting just how different it was compared to the way Snape had kept the room. Aquilina kept he room light and airy she had even gone to the trouble of creating windows. They showed the Hogwarts grounds the must have been spelled to show the same as some of the other windows. Si was also wandering around as if in a state of awe, he had never had the need to sneak into a teachers office before so this was knew to him, Harry smiled finally a rule he broke better that the marauders themselves.  
  
"What do we need?" Si hissed.  
  
"Shh, don't worry I'll get what we need." Harry looked over the shelves picking out everything they would need, he was careful not to take as much as it would be missed. Finally he had everything they needed.  
  
"Lets go" Harry hissed at Si, and threw the invisibility cloak over them. At that moment there was the sound of footsteps outside the door. Si took a sharp breath. 'Great' Harry murmured 'does every generation have some teacher who is hell bent on disrupting my plans.' The pair stood side by side next to the door waiting for whomever it was to pass by. But they had no such luck, the footsteps stopped directly outside of the door.  
  
The door swung open and Professor Aquilina strode in. Harry almost laughed at the irony 'and it is a potions teacher spoiling my fun.' She was clearly here for a purpose other than the intruders, as she didn't even think of searching for anyone ho shouldn't be there. She went to her desk and riffled through the papers pulling one sheet out she smiled to herself. Tucking the paper inside her robe she turned and left.  
  
Sirius sighed deeply.  
  
"That was way to close Jamie." Harry smiled, Sirius was actually scared of getting caught, something must have changed as in the later years when they had made the marauders map they can't have had any fear of being caught. Because stealing the plans for Hogwarts, well if they were caught the shit would defiantly have hit the fan in a big way. With a start Harry realised that it could have been his fault for the change, it probably was his fault for the change. Before the fifth year they had been about Fred and Georges level nothing really important but after that was when they became animagi and they made the map.  
  
"Don't worry Si, I never get caught." Which was true as from James' diary he knew that James had never been caught and Harry sure as hell hadn't, well there was that one time with Moody but that didn't count it wasn't fair for teachers to be able to see through invisibility cloaks. Si looked at Harry a strange look on his face.  
  
'Oh shit, oh shit. He knows something is wrong.' Harry panicked.  
  
"Jamie, something odd is going on you well never quite so happy about blatant rule breaking before." Si asked. 'Oh shit' Harry mind screamed. He forced a smile.  
  
"Si, you know me. I get bored easily. Have to find new challenges." Harry said hoping that the answer would satisfy Si. He looked around "and the next challenge will be getting back to the dorm without having another run in with a professor." Si nodded accepting Harry answer.  
  
"Well let's get out of here and get with the potion making." Si smirked forgetting about his suspicions about Harry.  
  
They made it to their dormitory with no more mishap. Well there was a slight problem with Peeves. The mischievous ghost was trying to get Harry and Sev caught. With chants of: 'students out of bed' but luckily no one cared was Peeves was jabbering on about so Harry and Si got to their dormitory in one piece.  
  
"Reme, Peter. The intrepid explores have returned." Si called out as they entered the dorm room. The pair instantly sprang from their beds, still fully clothed. 'pity' a little voice in Harry muttered, and it is safe to assume he wasn't thinking about Peter. Harry felt like banging his head against a wall, why was he thinking these things, he had known he was gay for a couple of years but he wasn't normally as horny as this. A thought about Malfoy's ass here 'he really does have a nice ass' and a thought about how Seamus would look naked there. Usually these thoughts were few and far between but now. now he had had thoughts like these over two people, his professors no less, in one evening. 'Maybe it is the lack of the pressure of being 'the boy who lived' and I am just acting like any normal 16 year old male, well who is gay', he couldn't make any kind of a move or Remus it would kill Si, who at this point still insisted he was straight. Plus James himself was straight so it would majorly fuck up well, everything. Harry smiled at Reme, but the smile was tinged with sadness, it would be years before those two finally got together. Harry hated knowing what was going on yet unable to tell a soul, he knew that Si really did love Reme but was just to stubborn to admit it.  
  
"Si, have you got the ingredients?" Reme asked bounding over to Si. To Harry it werewolf felt about Si ' that is the benefit of hindsight I guess' but yet he couldn't say a damm thing. Si smiled at Reme.  
  
"Yeh we got them, thanks to Jamie." Harry smiled at them.  
  
"Well let's get to making the Polyjuice." Harry instructed. 


	6. Hubble Bubble toil and trouble

Authors note: I have re written this chapter a bit, because as Amethyst pointed out it would take a hell of a lot longer to make the poly juice so hopefully this chapter makes more sense now (  
  
Part six:  
  
The first step of the lengthily process was complete; it had been quite a 'unique' experience. They had started to brew it in their room, it was the place that they were least likely to get caught. Which was true they didn't get caught. But they did come perilously close to melting the cauldron; none of them were very good at potions. 'Now if we had Severus here it would have been much easier. Severus? Shit' when had he started to think of the potions monster as Severus. And he actually wanted the greasy git to be there. 'He not really greasy you know' Harry was seriously doubting his mental stability, talking to himself was defiantly not a good sign. Harry mentally shrugged, he would not think about this at the moment they had plans to make. Harry Smirked at the other marauders.  
  
"I have an idea how to use the Polyjuice." Harry mused already assuming that they would 'eventually' get it completed. "We sneak into the Slytherin common room." The others looked at him as if he had gone mad, which might very well be true but he wasn't about to give up his plan.  
  
"You can not be serious." Si exclaimed.  
  
"Oh but I am, all we have to do is find four Slytherin, steal some of their hair and make sure that they will be away while we want to sneak in."  
  
"Jamie have you any idea how much trouble we would get into if we were caught, not to mention the mauling we would get from the members of Slytherin." Peter squeaked.  
  
"Come on, don't you want to do something truly original." Si had an odd glint in his eyes, Harry recognised it, and he had seen it on Sirius' face a few times himself. He was planning something.  
  
"Jamie you right, we are the 'marauders' we can't be bound by petty rules we have to be the best." Harry smirked; he had won the argument, if James and Sirius agreed on something the other two were bound to follow. "Now all we need are potential candidates."  
  
After much debate they finally decided on using members of the Slytherin Quiditch team. While they were out at practice the Marauders could sneak in without running the risk of there being two of the same person at one time. It would probably be best to use people that they knew the most about so unfortunately that tended to mean the ones they liked least.  
  
"Ok, I'll be Malfoy" Sirius decided. "I want to hit on one of the ugliest people in his house, that way we get months of entertainment."  
  
"Well then I guess I'll be Snape." Harry said, tying to think up an excuse why he wanted to be Severus, as it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell them that the real reason was that he wanted to see him naked. "It makes sense he is the seeker of their team." He settled on, a lame reason if ever Harry had heard one but it was the best he could come up with.  
  
"I don't know who to be." The high-pitched voice of Peter whined. Harry found it hard not to look with disgust on the boy. A million and one things came to his mind about what Peter could be but all of them were nasty and involved some kind of horrible creature.  
  
"Well I know who I want to be, I'll be Cameron Lestrange." All eyes turned to Remus who had made the statement, anyone less like Remus would be hard to find, Cameron was loud obnoxious a bastard and probably already a Death Eater. As Harry though about Death Eaters he remembered what Severus had said, 'at least I will be able to find out if he really is a death eater'  
  
"Reme, why do you want to be Lestrange?" Si asked. Remus shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"He is no worse than Malfoy or Snape." Harry couldn't stop himself from thinking that he was infinitely worse than Snape. "Plus he is going out with Ivy" Reme smirked, everyone believed he was terribly shy but it was a great way to get girls and guys for that matter, and since the person he really wanted didn't want him he had to find his entertainment elsewhere.  
  
Si must have been thinking about who Peter could be because suddenly he came out with the best idea. Well Harry thought it was a great idea.  
  
"Peter I know who you can be, Rose Fudge." Three of them burst into laughter at the idea, while Peter looked like he was about to cry. It was perfect, Rose looked like she had seen the wrong side of a bludger to many times, her nose was Squashed flat and she was quite heavily built, in fact she looked like a female Peter. Barely female. They could all tell Peter was not amused by the suggestion but he was too spineless to complain.  
  
The marauders spent the next week trying to obtain the hair needed for the potion. Si and Reme got theirs with very little problem. Malfoy being possibly the vainest person alive always carried a comb about with him, Harry hated to admit it but as much as he disliked Draco he thanked Merlin that he wasn't as bad as his father. Si charmed the comb to run away from Malfoy, It was a great idea as it entertained them greatly as well as serving their purpose. The comb literary sprouted legs and ran over to Sirius. This had the entire Grifindor table in hysterics. Especially when a very irate Malfoy stormed over to the demanding to know what was going on. Si just smirked at him handing him the comb silently, this probably pissed him off more that anything else Si could have done.  
  
Reme had the easiest time of all; he picked a stray hair of off Lestrange's robe during transfiguration. Even Peter managed to get the hair, fare enough he did cause quite a scene as he just went up to Rose and yanked it from her head but at least he had succeeded. But Harry had not; he was having a great deal of trouble trying to get the hair he needed. The main reason being he found it impossible to concentrate when Severus was around. This little problem did not bode well for potions lessons.  
  
Each and every Potions lesson was a nightmare he spent the entire time painfully aware of Severus' presence only a couple of inches away from him. The heat he could feel coming from Severus was enough to drive him mad. Harry had devised a mantra to keep himself sane and to stop him from pouncing onto the guy. 'I do not have a thing for the greasy git.' But it sounded so false as from this position he could clearly see there was nothing greasy about Severus.  
  
But somehow Harry had managed to keep himself in check for all the log weeks it took to brew the potion. Then the day the potion was due to completed, disaster struck. Harry's usual mantra didn't seem to be working; he sensed something wrong with Severus. it had been going on for the past two days but today was worse. It was a niggling little feeling inside his head, I felt like Severus was in pain but Harry could see anything wrong with the fellow student. So distracted was Harry that he nearly cut of a finger when chopping his bat liver.  
  
"What are you doing?" Severus' cold voice rang out, getting Harry attention before he did indeed succeed in parting himself with one or more of his fingers.  
  
"I. I am chopping the bat liver," Harry stammered glancing at the textbook, "like it says to." 'Severus is actually taking to me, why what is going on, has he noticed?' All these thoughts were buzzing through Harry's head.  
  
"Well the famous Potter wit strikes again," Severus, drawled, "Maybe by the time you leave school you will be able to speak properly." He paused "Though it's doubtful. You are supposed to chop the bat liver yes, but not your fingers. of course, I have nothing against you loosing your fingers but it would disrupt the lesson and I would rather not fail. Unlike you some of us are actually here to learn." Severus glared at Harry wondering what was going on, James was not normally so careless whatever Severus might say to the contrary. 'Something is different he is not acting like himself.' Severus mused 'of course his idiot friends haven't noticed I doubt they would even say anything if he sprouted a tail and wings.' Severus himself was an expert on what was normal for Potter, he needed to be. He had to be able to recognise the signs for when Potter was planning something as whenever he was planning something Severus was normally the victim. So he always knew when something was up with Potter. Severus silently vowed that he would find out what was going on. And exploit it.  
  
Harry was starting to get worried at the look Severus was giving him; it was as if he suspected something was wrong. For a fleeting moment Harry wondered if Severus was thinking about him in the same way as Harry thought about him but the thought was quickly squashed, his fantasizing about such things would need him to admit his 'problem'.  
  
"Se. Snape what are you staring at?" Harry asked coldly, well he tried for cold but it had too much heat to it. Severus cocked an eyebrow noticing that Potter had almost called him by his given name. 'Something is defiantly going on' Severus thought.  
  
"Well Potter I was charmed by your overwhelming beauty and I could not stop myself." He snarled, Harry's breath caught and Severus almost ruined his hard fought for image by laughing at him. 'What is he doing to me?' Harry almost whined but managed to stop himself from saying it out loud.  
  
At that moment the bell rang signalling the end of class Harry was visibly relieved he picked up his books and bolted out the door not even waiting for Si. Brushing past Severus on his way. Severus looked after him as he ran out, wondering how he could use this new situation best. Smirking at the thought of having something that could potentially destroy James.  
  
Severus picked up his books and headed out the door when professor Aquilina stopped him.  
  
"Severus the headmaster wishes to see you. Now." She told him. Severus gulped no doubt this would have something to do with his 'assignment'.  
  
*********************  
  
"Ah Severus please do sit down." Dumbledore instructed him. "Tea?" Severus shook his head.  
  
"No thank you sir. I need to get to my next class."  
  
"Well Severus I am sure that can wait. What is your next class? Divination isn't it?" Severus nodded. "James is in that class I am sure you can get notes from him" Dumbledore had an odd twinkle I his eye. Severus paled slightly fearing that Dumbledore knew about the way he was taunting James earlier. But Dumbledore just carried on not giving any further indication that he something was up. "I have called you here to discuss the job you are doing for me." Severus smiled bitterly, he was right this meeting was about his 'assignment'.  
  
"Sir, what exactly do you wish to discuss? My 'friends' my enemies or Voldemort himself." Severus spat out. Dumbledore must have heard the anger behind the words but he chose to ignore it.  
  
"Well all three of them to be perfectly frank." Dumbledore said calmly resting his hands on his desk.  
  
"Well my 'friends' are behaving exactly as expected. Lucius is following in his father's footsteps. Cameron, Ivy, Rose and a few others are all flocking to Voldemort he is going to end up with quite a following all Slytherin's best and brightest are going to him. My best 'friend' Lucius doesn't suspect that I might not be the loyal little Death Eater that I pretend to be. My skills in potions seem to be more advanced than anything else Voldemort has on offer, even though I am only fifth year. So I can only assume so far Voldemort has only met with incompetent fools. It would be to much to hope for that it was in reality my exception skill in the field of potion making that meant I was the best." Severus cocked his head "of course I do have an exceptional skill but." Severus raised his shoulders. Dumbledore's reports were always like this, Severus would give Dumbledore all the information he had but he was bitter about it, and Dumbledore let him get away with his disrespectful tone and language because it was his fault that Severus was in this situation in the first place. "He has had me brew a couple of illegal potions for him, poisons mostly." At this Dumbledore sat up.  
  
"Did he ask you personally?" this was the first time that Severus had actually been asked to do something, he had never even met Voldemort personally. Severus' eyes darkened at the question, Dumbledore was worried now, 'if Severus had actually been exposed to Voldemort himself the risk was getting too great, an unacceptable risk.  
  
"I think you already know the answer headmaster." He said coldly, he was clutching at his left arm an unconscious movement. Albus noticed what Severus was doing 'oh no, oh no. What have I done to this poor boy.' And other such thoughts were screaming through his head.  
  
"I am sorry, there was nothing I could do' Severus's voice seemed almost at breaking point. 'If I had refused there would have known something was wrong. I just let them do it, I let them mark me." Tears were now streaming down his face. Dumbledore got to his feet.  
  
"My poor child," He said moving to Severus's side. "You have nothing to apologize for." Albus placed a had on his shoulder, 'It is who should be apologizing, what was I thinking asking him to do this for me' Dumbledore thought about the marauders 'he should be one of them not their enemy, he shouldn't even be in Slytherin, he is too brave for that, but I. I spoiled all that for the sake of gathering information.' For a moment he thought about why he had even picked Severus, It is because he is the only one that would be able to survive it. James as good a fighter as he is, would be too weak to do it and Sirius would never even agree. Albus looked down at the dark eyed boy in front of him, regretting the day that he had asked the boy to be his spy. Albus reached for Severus's arm, pulling up the sleeve, there was no way to detect the mark magically it was to well constructed for that but it could never be totally hidden.  
  
The mark burned darkly on Severus' pale skin. It was brand a mark of lost innocence and in this case a symbol of an unimaginable sacrifice for only a boy to have to make.  
  
"Severus' this doesn't make you a bad person, I know that you would never betray us." Severus turned his sad eyes on Dumbledore.  
  
"But everyone else believes I have betrayed you." He said bitterly. 'Not every one' Albus thought. 'There is one who knows the truth if only you would talk to him.' 


	7. Truth or Dare

Part seven:  
  
Severus seemed to have gotten over the little episode in Dumbledore's office; well at least he had managed to hide it. Wouldn't do any good for a 'servant of the dark lord' to be upset by the dark mark. He stalked down the corridor with a predatory lilt to his walk, he was searching for Potter. 'Typical when I don't want to see that pitiful excuse for a wizard he is everywhere I look and when I actually need to talk to him I can't find him anywhere.' Severus grumbled to himself. He looked at his watch realising that he should be at Quiditch practice, 'well Lucius can just go fuck himself' Lucius was the captain of the Quiditch team, isn't it amazing what money can do. 'I'll just tell him I was talking to Dumbledore, perfectly true and the fool would never suspect the real reason I was there, I'll tell him it was about Potter or something' He mused as he made his way to the Slytherin common room.  
  
Inside he spotted Lucius 'the fucker he is not even at practice himself' Severus thought bitterly. He was about to confront his 'friend' when the sight of who Lucius was talking to stole his breath away. It was the same person that Severus saw in the mirror every morning, himself.  
  
He hid round the corner and muttered a temporary appearance altering spell, it only worked for a couple of minutes but that was all he needed. Severus slunk back into the common room  
  
"Severus I need to talk to you now." He told the person that wore his face.  
  
Harry looked at the guy who had just called him, well Severus actually, he looked kind of familiar but he couldn't remember having ever seen him before. To say Harry was panicked was an understatement they hadn't thought about the possibility of people talking to them while they were disguised.  
  
They had finished the potion that afternoon, Harry had found one of Severus' hairs on his robe when he got hack to the dorm, well he assumed it was Severus' as it was to long to be his own.  
  
Harry nodded at the guy and followed him out of the door, not knowing what else to do.  
  
Once out of site Severus pushed Harry hard against the wall.  
  
"Who are you?" He snarled as his feature melted back to usual. Harry felt positively sick as he watched Severus, this was defiantly not good. But Harry couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of Severus pressed up against him. If he had been any less stubborn he would have probably been of the mentality 'fuck consequences and me while you are at it.' But Harry couldn't let himself think something like that, for a surprising large number of reasons, not the least of which being he was caught red handed in the Slytherin common room.  
  
"Uh" Harry squeaked unable to think up anything that would get him out of this situation.  
  
"Ok then if you won't tell me I'll jut have to take matters into my own hands." Severus said reaching for his wand.  
  
"Don't do that." Harry rushed.  
  
"And why not?" he said with a lazy smile on his features. Harry tried to think up a story that would get him away from Severus without ending up permanently disfigured and he came up black, so he settled for the truth.  
  
"Because." He looked into Severus's eyes, and whispered. "I know you don't really want to hurt me, or anyone for that matter. I know that you didn't want to become a Death Eater." Severus stumbled back as if Harry had hit him. Mouth open in shock, he could deny what Harry was saying as he had no idea of who he was and trying to convince anyone other than a death eater that you were one of them would be suicide. But he couldn't let anyone know that he was playing Voldemort. Severus sank to his knees sure that something very very bad was going to happen. Harry crouched down beside him.  
  
"I know what Dumbledore asked you to do."  
  
"How?" was all he managed to gasp out? What had Harry gotten himself into, he was tempted to tell him the whole truth, 'what is wrong with me? Why do I want to trust Snape of all people?' Harry glanced at the young man kneeling beside him, he wore none or the worries that Harry remembered from the Snape in his time period, he was just a 16 year old like Harry himself asked to bear a burden that was to much for even a grown wizard to carry, so much about Severus mirrored his own situation. Harry had never asked to be the Wizarding Worlds saviour, just as Severus never asked to be a spy. Never before had Harry realised how lucky he actually was at least people were on the most part grateful for him, for what he stood for, Severus had no such luck he was despised for what he pretended to be, people distrusted him, never loved him because they thought of him as a Death Eater.  
  
"I will tell you who I am but you must come with me to someplace private." He saw mistrust flair in Severus' eyes, "please trust me. I. I trust you." Those words Harry never thought himself say about Severus just spilled out. Severus looked at the person wearing his face, feeling a need to trust him even though he didn't know who he was. So he nodded his headed consenting to go someplace private with this stranger.  
  
"We can go up to my room," Severus said his tone flat.  
  
"You have your own room?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. Severus gave him a strange look and he nodded.  
  
"Carry on down this corridor I will direct you from there." Severus said regaining his cool exterior once more, making sure to send the impostor ahead as there was no way in hell he would turn his back on anyone, something that being in Voldemort's company very quickly teaches you. Now it was Harry's turn to just nod.  
  
They passed the door to common room remembering the Si was still in there. As they passed the door Harry called to Si.  
  
"Lucius there is something I need to take care of," He said mimicking Severus's cold voice, 'I will meet you in the great hall at dinner." Si nodded, knowingly thinking Harry was going to do something to the Slytherin's, which was technically true but if Si knew what Harry was doing he would probably throw a fit. Severus glared at Harry, realising that the Lucius was also an impostor, 'two impostors. We are supposed to be the sly ones and there have been two non Slytherin's lurking about our Halls. We are defiantly loosing our touch.'  
  
"Go up these stairs," Severus's cold voice rang out and stop by the third door on the left."  
  
"Sure."  
  
They stood together outside of the door, Harry was painfully aware that the Polyjuice was about to wear of, that he was about to be left deep in Slytherin territory. Severus tapped the door with his wand and gestured for Harry to go inside.  
  
Harry looked around the room, it wasn't very large but at least he didn't have to share. It was decorated in, shock horror, Grifindor colours. He stood there jaw dropped, 'what was the potions monster doing with Grifindor colours, he hates anything even remotely Grifindor related.' Severus saw the look that Harry was giving the room and flushed slightly. But he pretended that he didn't care and got straight to giving Harry the third degree.  
  
"So who are you?" He asked in a cold voice as he sat on the bed.  
  
"Well" Harry said unsure of exactly how to break the news to him. He looked at his watch only one more minute till the Polyjuice wore off. "Ok I am not who I appear to be.  
  
"Well that's obvious. Because I am me so I know that 'you' defiantly are 'not'."  
  
"What I mean is" Harry was having a real hard time trying to find the right words. So he decided to just come out and say it. "I am Harry Potter, James Potter's son."  
  
"What!" Severus yelled, he had to have misheard; James was nowhere old enough to have a son that age. Harry winced at Severus' tone.  
  
"Shh," He hissed, "I know what you are thinking and I am here because my father and I switched time periods, so he is a few years in the future with all my friends and I am here with all of his." The Polyjuice chose that moment to wear of. Harry's own features melted into view. Severus stood up very quickly as if he could not believe his eyes. He glared at Harry, he had thought something weird was going on but this was just slightly to weird. "You have to believe me." Harry almost pleaded " don't want any grudge you have against my father to stop us from being friends, after all," Harry gave a small smile, "I am the only person that knows who you really are, and" Harry Shrugged his shoulders "you're the only one who knows who I am."  
  
Severus glared at Harry for a moment or two as if deciding what he should about this person who claimed to be from the future. The pleading tone of Harry's voice was something he had never heard in James' so he was inclined to believe him on those grounds alone but he was Severus Snape after all so he could be THAT trusting. But something inside him was creaming out to trust this person, someone who knew exactly who he was and didn't hate him for it.  
  
"No, this isn't true. You are playing a prank on me. I don't know how you found out about my assignment but I will 'never' trust a Grifindor."  
  
"Severus, I swear I am telling you the truth. Ask Dumbledore. He knows the truth. And as for you hating Grifindor why is your room in our colours!" Harry's voice getting louder and louder with each word. Severus snarled at him refusing to answer. He lowered his voice. "Come to Dumbledore with me. He will sort this out." Not caring to remember the fact that he would have to explain what he was doing in the Slytherin halls.  
  
"OK Potter. We will go to Dumbledore. Where you will probably be expelled for being in our Halls along with Black, I know that is was him pretending be Lucius." Severus said each word a chip of ice. "Potter, you and Black are always together" Severus Smirked "one would think something is going on."  
  
"My father is not homosexual, if that is what you are implying." Harry said in a cold voice to equal Snape's, ominously leaving out any references to his own sexuality. "Well let's go to Dumbledore." 


	8. True colours

Part Eight:  
  
The pair stood in Dumbledore's office. Luckily it was dinner time so the Halls and the Common room were deserted, there was nobody present to remark upon the fact that a Grifindor was emerging from the Slytherin Halls, or to ask why Harry looked like a kicked puppy and Severus looked like if he could reasonably get away with mass genocide he would do it in a flash. Dumbledore had taken one look at the pair and ushered them into his office immediately. Guessing correctly what had happened, nothing goes on in the school that he doesn't know about.  
  
"Severus, Harry please take a seat." Severus's head snapped up at that. But sat down without a word. "Would you like some tea?" Harry accepted gratefully and it appeared on the table in front of him. Severus as usual refused.  
  
"Harry I want you to tell me honestly what you were doing in Slytherin's Halls." Harry hung his head, and blushed.  
  
"I... I wanted to make a good impression on my father's friends. So I suggested using Polyjuice to sneak in to Slytherin's Halls." Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"I can understand you trying to impress them, it must be hard for you to pretend to be him. But you have to respect the school rules. I won't do anything about it this time but if you are caught doing anything like this again I will be forced to take action." It was an interesting choice of words, 'if I am caught, what if I am not caught?' Harry asked himself.  
  
All though the conversation Severus was sitting silently listening. 'So it is true, this really is Harry Potter.' Severus thought to himself 'and I am the only person besides Dumbledore to know, The Maunders don't even know.' This would be a perfect thing to hold over him, blackmail him with but Severus honestly didn't want to. He acted like a Slytherin because that was what was expected of him it didn't mean he liked it. Well except the attitude problem that was all his.  
  
Dumbledore turned his attention to Severus.  
  
"Severus, since you already know some of what is gong on it would foolish to keep the rest from you, I will give Harry permission to tell you everything on the condition that you tell no one. Likewise you will be able to tell Harry about your assignment since he already seems to know about it," Albus said, a twinkle in his eye. "You both need someone to talk to and I regret that although I am always willing to listen you do not always feel comfortable talking to me. You may use one of the unused staff offices, for privacy." there was laughter in Dumbledore's eye's "The one next to the transfiguration classroom would be perfect. And I know I do not need to stress the importance of not letting anyone else know any of this." The two young men nodded solemnly. They both knew just how dangerous Voldemort could be. At least now they did not have to face the danger alone.  
  
***********************  
  
James sat in the potion's classroom glaring a Snape. It was the first potions lesson that he had as Harry and likewise it was also the first lesson he had been taught by Snape. From Harry's memories he knew the Snape favoured the Slytherin's, 'well no surprise there, the greasy git' he also knew just how much Snape hated Harry because of him.  
  
"Potter, what do you think you are doing" Snape snarled at James.  
  
"I am making the potion like you told us to" James bit out.  
  
"Oh that's what you call it is it, what I would call it is making a mockery of the fine art of potions. I know that you have other things on your mind" a pointed look at Ron, "but leave your private lives out of the class room." Snape smirked at the look of anger on James's face. The Slytherin's laughed at the comment, Draco especially. 'I don't see why he finds it so funny' Snape thought to himself ' he is as Gay as they come. I wonder what Lucius would say if he found out.'  
  
James opened his mouth as if to say something back to Snape, he really was not handling the fact that his nemesis had so much power over him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. James looked to see Hermione giving him a warning look, as if to say 'don't let the greasy bastard have the satisfaction' James smiled at her, thankful for the friendship that there was between them. She was a calming influence on his and he knew that it was the same for Harry.  
  
Snape sneered at James; he hated having that half-wit in his class, especially when it should have been Harry sitting there. He almost smiled bitterly 'at least Draco will be able to tell his father how nasty I am to potter, will help my charade no end.' He spared a brief thought as to what would happen when Harry got back, but quickly shut all thoughts about it out of his mind. He knew that if he thought about it he would break down. He didn't want to think what would happen if Harry had changed his mind, if he was disgusted by what had happened. I he let thoughts like that enter his mind he wouldn't be able to function at all, not to mention the fact that having the ice cold bastard potions master break down in tears would blow his spying games to hell. But having James sit there looking at him only served to remind him of everything that had happened.  
  
"Well get back to work" Snape snarled at them. Seriously contemplating taking points from Grifindor just for fun, well Slytherin would have been more fun but taking points off your own house would arose some suspicion. His house what a joke that was he hadn't even wanted to be sorted into it in the first place now he was its head. His rooms were still the colour of his true loyalties; he smiled internally as he remembered Harry's shocked expression when he found that the terror of Grifindor was actually one of them at heart. 


	9. Past, Present and Future

Author's notes: Thanx guys for all the reviews, it is great to know people are reading the stuff I write and enjoying it. So thanx again. If there is anything about the story you don't like please tell me and I will see what I can do.  
  
Hunter.  
  
Part nine:  
  
The pair wandered towards the unused office in silence, they had outspokenly agreed that they needed to sort everything out before they faced the rest of the world. There was a hell of allot that needed to be discussed.  
  
Once inside the room, they were surprised to see a table laid for two overflowing with food. Severus wandered over to the table and picked up a piece of paper that was lying on it.  
  
"I thought that the two of you might be hungry as you missed dinner. I have told your respective sets of friends that you are otherwise disposed hence the reason you were at dinner, I did not tell then when you would be back so take as much time as you need. Albus Dumbledore" Severus read. He gave a slight snort, "like my 'friends' would even care." Harry looked up at the comment. Severus sounded so bitter, he had always assumed that Severus had been great friends with Malfoy and co. but by the sound of things that wasn't true.  
  
"Severus." Harry started before he was cut off.  
  
"Sev." He announced.  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
"Call me Sev. If we are going to be friends I want you to call me Sev. That is what my friends call me. And before you say anything, I know that Lucius and them lot call me Severus but as you may have already guessed they are not what I would call friends." He stared straight into Harry's eyes, giving a rare glimpse of his true self. Harry smiled, realising what a gift it was from Severus.  
  
"I wish I could repay the favour." His hand moved unconsciously towards his scar, he could feel a roughness to the skin that couldn't' be seen. He reached out and grabbed Sev's hand and pushed it his forehead, Sev was too shocked to complain. " Here this is what makes me, me. This what made me famous this is what makes me the target of an evil mad man, this is what has made my life hell for fifteen years." Harry finished solemnly.  
  
Sev felt a patch of rough skin underneath his fingers; it was in the shape of a lightning bolt. It must be a scar but when he looked at Harry he could see it, he surmised that someone, Dumbledore probably, had hidden it.  
  
"What happened?" He asked quietly. Harry laughed, slightly hysterically,  
  
"It is a long story, we should probably sit down. Have something to eat." Harry sat at the table and helped himself to a pumpkin pasty, Sev sat next to him and took some chocolate frogs, he was in a definite chocolate mood.  
  
"Well" Harry started, "it starts what I was one year old, my parents they. they were killed by Voldemort. He tried to kill me to but something went wrong and instead of killing me it all but killed him. I am the only person the have ever survive that particular curse. The killing curse." Harry said all this in a detached voice the same he always used when talking about his past, it made it easier to bear. "With my parents dead, I was forced to live with my mothers family, who hated me with a passion. To them I was a freak; a nuisance only put up with because they were scared of what Dumbledore would do to them if they tried to get rid of me. I was in essence their slave, I cooked I cleaned and lived in a cupboard. Until on my eleventh birthday I got my Hogwarts letter, it was the best feeling in my life to know that I had somewhere else to go that I didn't have to be stuck with the muggles anymore. But my excitement was somewhat short lived as once I got to Hogwarts I found that I was the Wizarding worlds saviour. Little old me was expected to save them all. How was an eleven year old supposed to bear that kind of a burden? Well I did my best and I suffered many attacks by Voldemort and those who bore his mark, though out my past four years at Hogwarts. Of course my friends helped me, but I felt terribly alone, you have no idea how isolated this burden made me feel." Harry looked at Severus "or maybe you do. And the only person that could have helped might have known what I was going through hated me, or so I thought. Now I am not sure. Now I think he did it all to protect the past and the future. He was the Potions Master, my silent protector, Severus Snape" Harry wound up there and looked at Sev for his reaction.  
  
Sev listened to Harry's tale without uttering a word, it was quite a shock to him, to say he least.  
  
"Harry." Sev started unsure of what to say. Harry looked at him tears in his eyes.  
  
"Sev, you have no idea how much of a relief it is to be here, to not be under Voldemort constant threat. I can only imagine what you feel having to be with him on a regular basis. I think something like that would kill me." Sev smiled sadly. And clutched his left arm he couldn't feel anything physically but it felt like a weight in his mind. It was wearing him down already, and he had only been wearing it a week. Harry saw what Sev was doing and reached across and grabbed his left arm.  
  
"It's here isn't it?" Sev nodded silently, he looked fearfully at Harry as if scared what he was going to do. Harry rolled up the sleeve and looked at the mark, It was hideous to look at but Harry forced himself to not look away, if Sev had to wear it the least he could do was look at with out flinching. He raised the arm to his mouth and kissed it gently, he had no idea what he was doing, or even why he was doing it, it just felt right.  
  
Sev took a deep shuddering breath. What ever he had been expecting that defiantly wasn't it. The feel of those soft soft lips of his skin was amazing; it seemed to make the mark slightly easier to bear. Harry knew all of him and accepted him without question even, that was what Sev desperately needed, he needed to be accepted unconditionally something that he had never gotten before. Even his parents, hadn't done that for him all they wanted was for their only son to go and worship Voldemort. They had gotten their wish but it took Dumbledore request his first day at Hogwarts for it to happen.  
  
"Thank you." Sev whispered. Harry smiled warmly.  
  
"I know what it's like to have a burden like this forced upon you, I would like to help you bear I if I can?" Sev smiled faintly in return, Harry marvelled at the change that over came Sev's face when he smiled. If Harry thought he was good looking before, now. now he was perfect.  
  
"Ok, then, I'll tell you everything. I was born to two of Voldemort's most fanatical supporters, Caroline and Edmond Snape. They were both in Slytherin while at school and they both wanted me to follow in their footsteps. Imagine what a disappointment I was to them, I didn't hate Muggles with a passion, I was foolishly brave and I didn't want to follow Voldemort. These were all deadly sins to them, I was beaten for it. Once I dared to bad mouth the dark lord and I suffered terribly for it, is it any wonder I hate Voldemort, I have felt what Death Eaters are capable of first hand. Cruciatus on a nine year old." Sev laughed bitterly. "Needless to state I never did that again. By the time I was 11 the letter for Hogwarts seemed like my salvation I could finally get away from my parents, surely Dumbledore would protect me. But on my first day I was met at Platform 9 ¾ by your grandmother, she was one of Dumbledore's friends and a member of the order. She told me that Dumbledore himself wanted to see me as soon as possible. I heart soared, Dumbledore must have heard of my plight and was going to offer me protection. But unfortunately that was not the case. We took a portkey to Hogwarts where I was escorted to his office; he told me that he had an idea. Since both my parents were in Slytherin and death eaters I would be the perfect choice for his little scheme. He seemed to know that I didn't want to have anything to with the dark if I could help it, so he suggested that I be one of the orders most value recourses. A Spy in Voldemort's midst. I would have to make friends with he other Death Eaters children and no show the distaste I felt for everything to do with HIM. The last was not to much of a problem ever since I was nine I had to learn that showing my true feeling could be disastrous. The hardest to bear was the fact that I had to be sorted into Slytherin. I had secretly longed to be put in Grifindor, I wanted to be a hero, to be like to have loyal and true friends but I had to be sorted with the snakes. Even for all the hardships was sure to endure I agreed to help Dumbledore, I could not let that great man down. I would have done anything for him. So at eleven I made that life changing decision, I chose to be his spy. So Dumbledore brought the sorting hat off of its shelf and he placed it on my head, Grifindor it screamed instantly, I almost cried. I should have been in Grifindor; the Marauders should have been my friends but Dumbledore Ordered the Hat to say Slytherin the next time it was placed on my head. As the rest of the first years came into the front hall I joined them pretending I had been there the whole time. And true to the plan, when called the sorting hat called Slytherin when placed upon my head. I was cheered by the Slytherin's, even more than Malfoy, my parents were infamous you see, and I their son should be a great addition to the snake pit. Immediately I stated to make 'friends' with them. Soon I was believed to be a loyal servant of the dark lord, when my parents heard they were ecstatic finally their wayward son had seen the light. And only last week I got the mark, my proud parents came to my initiation they stood by and smiled as I felt like my soul was being ripped away, but it hadn't been, that would have been a mercy. Without a soul there would be no pain but the mark is not merciful it is cruel, it keeps my soul in torment every day. That is until. until you kissed it." Sev stopped and looked at the table, he had never told this to anyone, not even Dumbledore knew about what his parents had done to him or how agonising the dark mark was. Finally he looked up to see Harry's face only inches from his own. Then the green eyed wonder pressed his lips to Sev's and the world seemed to stand still. 


	10. Snakes Souls and Si

Part ten:  
  
Every nerve in Harry's body seemed on fire, he had never felt anything like this before. Sev's sweet soft mouth kissed his passionately. When Harry had placed his lips on Sev's he had been worried Sev might push him away but those fears were unfounded. Sev kissed him hungrily and if his life depended on it.  
  
Sev felt shock course through him at the touch of Harry's lips but the shock was soon replaced by a burning passion. And Sev responded eagerly. It had never been like this before, Sev was by no means an innocent but this feeling was totally new, Harry made him feel complete. As if a part of him that had been missing was now found. A part that soothed the torture of the dark mark, a part of his soul.  
  
Finally Sev pulled back, slightly breathless. His face flushed in a way Harry had never seen before. He put a hand up to Sev's face touching it gently. Neither seemed eager to speak as if that would break the moment and one would realise what a mistake it would be. Sev took a hold of Harry's hand.  
  
"What are we doing?" He asked, "This will never work." His eyes were shiny with tears threatening to fall. Harry gripped his hand.  
  
"Why, why won't it work?" he said fiercely, "For all we know I could be stuck her indefinitely. And if it is the fact that you are a Slytherin and I am a Grifindor, well fuck that. House prejudices mean nothing to me."  
  
"No it is because I am a Slytherin, a death eater and you are the Heir of Grifindor." He yelled. Harry stared at Sev in open-mouthed shock. Sev swathe look of absolute bewilderment on Harry's face.  
  
"In Merlin's name, you didn't know did you?" Harry nodded mutely. "Dumbledore never told you? I was sire he would have told you." Harry Gulped.  
  
"No... No he never said a word, though that would explain a few things." He gave a slightly hysterical laugh "and to think everyone though I was Slytherin's Heir." Sev gave him a quizzical look. "In our second year, the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and since I was the only Parselmouth. They assumed I must be the heir." Harry explained.  
  
*You are a Parselmouth*  
  
*Yes* Harry hissed before he realised that Sev had not spoken English. "Well aren't you just full of surprises?" Harry asked trying to lighten the mood. Sev gave the ghost of a smile.  
  
"This doesn't change the fact that I have to pretend to be a Death Eater. If they find out that I am." he tried searching for the right word.  
  
"Dating" Harry, said hopefully.  
  
"Yes, dating the heir, they will use me against you."  
  
"We will just have to make sure nobody finds out, that is if you want this?" Harry said lowering his eyes not wanting to look at Sev in case he rejected the idea. Sev put his hand under Harry chin raising his face so they could look at each other.  
  
"I want you." Sev stated, surprised that he would be so fourth coming about telling people his emotions. Harry Smiled broadly, his eye seemed to light up.  
  
"Good" Harry whispered. Bringing his lips to Sev's.  
  
*****************************  
  
"Harry" a voice said, a man walked out from behind a bookcase. His black hair was slightly wavy; his ruggish good looks were only slightly marred by his long years spent in Azkaban.  
  
"Si?" James whispered. Before running to him and putting his arms around the tall man. Sirius laughed.  
  
"I am glad my favourite godson is so pleased to see me. But what is with calling me Si, nobody but Reme calls me that, now." 'Shit I forgot that' James berated himself as tried to remedy the situation.  
  
"I just thought it would be a great abbreviation of your name, because Sirius is just Soooooooooooo hard to say." James smiled. Si ruffled James's hair smiling.  
  
"You know that is just what your father said." A look of pain flashed across his face. James desperately wanted to tell Sirius who he really was, He hated to see his best friend looking so sad, so lost. James looked into Si's eyes; they had lost their mischievous sparkle that James remembered. 'How could they believe those things about him' he thought to himself.  
  
"So what did you want to see me about?" James asked trying to change the subject. Si grinned widely at the question.  
  
"I have been talking to Albus and he said that since I am a member of the Order and am going to be spending a lot of time here you can stay at Hogwarts with Reme and I. You never have to go back to those horrible muggles. Isn't that great?" James gave a genuine smile. It was great news; he didn't know what he would have done to those muggles if he was to be made to stay with them. After everything that they had done to his son, magic ban or not they would have been made to suffer.  
  
"That is great Si. I am glad I will get to spend time with you." 'Even f it is our last time.' He added silently.  
  
A black robed figure stormed into Dumbledore's office. "Albus, you can not be serious about letting James stay here over the summer." Snape almost yelled at the headmaster.  
  
"I am serious, Severus." He answered kindly.  
  
"But I have been begging you for years to get Harry away from those muggles, people that make it look like the death eaters have the right idea. But your golden boy James Potter doesn't have to spend even in a minute in their company. I thought that maybe my belief that you favoured Potter was just jealousy but its not, it's true; you value that bastard over Harry, the boy who will in the future defeat Voldemort. How could you?" Severus hissed at the headmaster.  
  
"Severus," He said kindly, not getting angry at Severus tone of voice, or the rather colourful language he tended to use when he was worried about Harry. "There is a very simple reason, an you must swear not to use this against James," Sev nodded, "I don't trust him around the Dursley's. I am afraid that he will feel so strongly over what they did to Harry that he would do something regrettable to them, and in the process get himself and by default Harry expelled from Hogwarts." The answer silenced Sev, this was nothing like what he had been expecting, he didn't trust Potter, Sev never believed to hear the headmaster say something like that. Dumbledore realised that even Potter had his flaws something Sev knew all along. 


	11. Can't Keep a Good Marauder Down

Part eleven:  
  
There was a light nock at the door to the office, Sev and Harry leapt apart as if they had been electrocuted, looking wildly around the room to see if thee was anywhere they could hide, they could NOT be found together. Before they could do anything a voice spoke through the door.  
  
"Boys, I have to tell you it is almost curfew." Albus's soft voice rang out. They breathed a sigh of relief, but they couldn't help but feel a bit guilty over what they had been doing just before Albus interrupted.  
  
They emerged from the room blushing furiously but Dumbledore was not to be seen, Sev gave a small smile.  
  
"I bet he knew what was going on." He smirked, "He seemed to know everything else that goes on." Harry nodded in agreement. He looked up at Sev trying to seem confident.  
  
"Do I get a good night kiss then." He asked in a low voice. Sev smirked.  
  
"Well I don't know, do you really deserve one?" Harry pouted playfully. Sev leaned over and kissed the pouting mouth.  
  
"How could I resist?" he murmured. Harry smiled broadly.  
  
"I knew you couldn't resist me."  
  
"We had best be going to bed," Sev said regretfully. Now it was Harry's turn to smirk.  
  
"What any company?" Sev smiled.  
  
"Well as tempting as that offer may be, your Grifindor friends will wonder where you are if they are not already, unlike us you do not have your own rooms. One of the only benefits of being a Slytherin I might add."  
  
"Why do you get your own room?" Harry asked remembering that Sev had never said why when the topic had come up before.  
  
"Well would you trust a Slytherin to sleep in the same room as you?" Harry gave him a look that clearly said that there was one Slytherin he wouldn't mind sharing a room with. "They don't trust us not to kill each other in the night. It is probably a valid enough fear I know that there are a couple I would quite cheerfully murder in their sleep." Harry smile hoping that Sev was joking but then reconsidered, Harry remembered his feelings towards Lucius Malfoy, now if that was who Sev was meaning Harry would have no problems with it. 'Come to think of it maybe common dorms for us Grifs isn't such a good idea.' He thought, knowing all to well how tempting it would be just to do something unforgivable to Wormtail and stop the fucking joke that had been his life. But Harry knew he couldn't do that no matter what he night feel. As much as Harry hated to admit it without Wormtail's treachery Voldemort might never have been so severely wounded. Harry looked up and Sev was giving him a quizzical look.  
  
"I was just think that The Slytherin's probably have the right idea about single rooms," Harry winked then sauntered off to him room, leaving Sev to stair after him.  
  
His three roommates were already there when Harry entered his dorm. Si jumped up, ran across the room and hit Harry across the head.  
  
"Hey what was that for?" Harry yelled.  
  
"Leaving us at dinner worried sick about where you were, we thought that you might have been caught." Si yelled back. Harry smirked, an expression he seemed to have caught from Sev already.  
  
"Don't worry nothing I didn't want to happen happened. And I was late because Dumbledore needed to talk to me." Si calmed down a bit at that, he knew Dumbledore was not someone to be blown off because you had to meet your friends. "So what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?" Harry wondered what he should tell then, obviously he couldn't tell them the truth. He needed to think of something.  
  
"I am sorry Si but I really can't tell you. All I can say is that it has something to do with 'you know who'." Harry was quite proud with himself he had managed to avoid lying but he hadn't endangered any of them. Si nodded, he understood.  
  
Severus sat down on his bed, going over what had just happened. It was so out of character for him to trust someone so implicitly. But he couldn't help himself. Harry disarmed him, broke down the walls Sev had so carefully created around himself. Harry had the keys to his soul and he found himself not giving a damm.  
  
For the first night since he had received the Dark Mark Sev slept easy. His dreams filled with the raven-haired angel who had shown him real love for the first time.  
  
********************  
  
James groaned theatrically as he looked at the History of Magic essay he had yet to complete. Ron slapped him on the back.  
  
"I hear ya mate. Who ever actually thought of teaching a history of magic must have had a screw loose." He cocked his head to one side "it was probably the same person that decided making us learn 'potions'" that single word was almost spat out "would be a good idea." James smiled; Ron mirrored his own feelings to perfection. If things had been different and he had been born to Harry's time period he would defiantly have still been friends with Ron.  
  
"Harry! Ron!" A female voice called.  
  
"Uh oh we are in for it now" Ron did an expert mimic of James' earlier groan.  
  
"Have you still not finished your homework? The OWLS are this year. You had better start studying. How do you expect to make anything of your lives if you don't get the grades." She glared at them. James felt a bitter taste in his throat, he wouldn't need the grades, he wouldn't get the chance to do anything with them. He knew where his life was heading and it was heading to a horribly early death. He shock his head slightly he couldn't let himself wallow over things he couldn't change. 'But you can change them' a snide voice in his head told him. 'I will do the right thing' he swore to himself but he wanted to live, he was only fifteen and he was being told that he had to die, nobody wants to die. But all James had to do was look around and see all the people who would cease to exist if he decided to be selfish. Voldemort would most likely be in power and what kind of a world would that be for his son to grow up in. He knew how bad it was for Harry, he had to grow up without parents, being treated like a slave but if Voldemort was in power it would be so much worse, for them all. Dumbledore had acted like he had a choice over what he was going to do, he had no choice. He had to let events play out like they would have if he didn't know about them; he could not let the world go to hell for an extra few mouths of life. Because that would be about all he would have. H harboured no illusions he was sure the Voldemort would find him eventually, whatever he did. This way at least he gave everyone else a chance, gave his son a chance.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Ron asked, James wore a decidedly serious expression. James smirked at Ron and jumped to his feet.  
  
"Fooled ya." He yelled. Harry couldn't be seen to be moping; he was the hope for everyone after all. Harry defiantly had a lot to bear, and James had thought being the star seeker was a lot of pressure compared to what Harry had to live up to James' life was a paradise. He spared a thought for Harry wondering how he was coping. "You know what we have to do?" James asked.  
  
"No" Ron was looking rather confused.  
  
"We have to make a plan as to how we are going to make a fool of Malfoy," Malfoy bating was a good pass time whatever time period you were in. James smiled broadly.  
  
"We can't let you brothers have all the fun you know." Ron smiled as well. He always wanted to find a way to out do one or an other of his brothers and beating the twins at their own games would be great. James knew that Harry wasn't all that fond of pranks but he also knew that the Weasly twins practically worshiped the marauders. He could not let the opportunity to try some tried and tested own brand marauder mischief on them go by.  
  
"So any ideas?" Ron asked ignoring the glares from Hermione and the half done History of Magic homework.  
  
"Well I do have one idea." he had no idea how ironic it was that he was using the exact same phrase his son. There is truth to the saying, that history repeats itself, after all. 


	12. The Wolf, The Wizard and The Wardrobe

Part Twelve:  
  
Harry slowly opened his eyes, a goofy smile on his face. As he thought about yesterday his heart filled with joy. After a minute his face fell, he remembered the terrible truth no matter what the two of them felt for each other they had to act like they hated one another. Only in private could they be who they wanted to be, be themselves. He grunted and rolled over he promptly fell out of bed. Smacking his head off of the wardrobe beside his head.  
  
"For Merlin's sake," He snarled "What is it with me and ending up on the floor."  
  
"Hey Jamie, what you doing in there?" Si called "sounds like your trying to kill yourself. Unsuccessfully."  
  
"Not yet." He muttered bitterly.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing." Harry picked himself up off of the floor; gingerly testing all his limbs to make sure nothing was hurt. Luckily he seemed to be in tact only his pride was wounded. His head felt as thought there was a pixie playing the drums on it but nothing a simple charm can fix. He muttered the charm under is breath, and breathed in deeply as the pain dissipated.  
  
A figure burst in through the dorm room door.  
  
"Reme, how on earth can you get up so early?" Harry asked the figure. Reme smiled.  
  
"Someone has to give you a heads up on the news. And I just so happen to have some news. The dates of the next Hogsmead weekend have been posted. It is two weeks tomorrow." Reme was practically jumping up and down at the news, Harry was having a hard time figuring out what was the big deal, sure Hogsmead was good fun but Reme seemed to be ecstatic about it. Harry turned to see that the news had had a similar effect on Si as well. 'Ok I am defiantly missing something' he thought to himself 'what is happening that weekend. No birthdays, no parties, no tricks planned. Wait tricks, it is something to do with tricks.' A memory was niggling at the side of Harry's consciousness. He tried to remember everything he had read in his father's diaries. One line sprang to mind 'next Hogsmead weekend. That's when we will do it. We took the potion today and agreed that the only time we could really do the transformation would be the next Hogsmead weekend.' Harry felt suddenly sick, 'oh shit!' he mentally screamed, how was he supposed to try the transformation with out the potion.  
  
Harry glanced around wildly, the others were all so happy, 'how could I have forgotten this when I read fathers diary. I knew at the time I should have done something about it but no I had to put it of and then forget about it. Sev was right when he said I never think.' He plastered a smile on his face, he had to at least try and look like he was not about to be sick.  
  
"That's great Reme." He forced out. With the fake smile still on his face he went about getting ready for the day ahead. 'Why can nothing even be simple for me.' He groaned to himself 'first I am the boy who lived, then I find out I am gay, then I get transported back in time and fall in love with a man I thought I hated, and now the crème de la crème I am supposed to try and turn into a Animagus without any preparation.'  
  
It had been almost three years since the Marauders had found out about Reme's 'condition' they had spent all that time trying to find a way to help. Surprisingly it was Peter that had come up with the solution. They could not be with their friend as humans but as animals they would have no problem. They had all stated to pay an inordinately large amount of attention in transfiguration. Professor Mcgonigal was what she referred to as an Animagus. They had been told about this in their first year but only now did they really take an interest in it. They had asked her innocently how you became an Animagus and of course she refused to tell them all she would say is that it was not taught on the Hogwarts syllabus and no books on the subject were available in the students Library. And that only the most skilled in transfiguration would succeed, not to mention the fact that needed to have passable potions skills. So being the Marauders they paid no attention to her warnings and set about trying to find any information they could on the subject. Mcgonigal was right there were not any books available to them that said anything beyond what an Animagus was. It was Jamie's idea to search the restricted section. They had crept into the library, under Jamie's invisibility cloak, every night for almost six months gathering information on the topic. Their transfiguration grades had shot up, yet Mcgonigal did not suspect a thing. She probably didn't want to believe her perfect little Grifindor's would do anything wrong. Eventually they found the instructions for the potion that they had to create and details of how to actually perform the transformation. The potion required a lot of ingredients some of which they had not even heard of. Together those ingredients could only do one thing, so they could not procure them all together or people would know what they were up to, so they ordered them over a log periods of time. Months had passed before they had everything they needed. The potion itself was quick but hard to make, only 48 hours was needed. But it took them infinitely longer than that before they got it right. Once the potion was ready they split it between them and downed it. The potions purpose was to make the body keep the magical imprint of the animal so that the transformation would be natural after the first time. As in that no wand would be needed.  
  
Harry was eventually ready to go down for breakfast.  
  
"Hey guys there is something I need to do, I'll meet you in the great hall in a couple of minutes." Harry told them.  
  
"Sure Jamie. What you doing?" So asked.  
  
"I am going to owl my grandmother, you know she is away at the moment." Si nodded understandable Jamie had a really strong bond with his grandmother. Si really did 'not' need to know that in reality he was going to owl his father's nemesis. Harry almost smirked 'No. That would be an over share'  
  
Sev: I need your help. Can I meet you? Please. It is important.  
  
Love Harry.  
  
He had added love Harry without even thinking about it. It was automatic. Harry attached the letter to his Fathers owl's leg.  
  
"Now to let the games begin" he whispered to himself. 


	13. Marauder Mischeif

Part Thirteen:  
  
The great hall was a hive of activity, people sat round the large house tables. Eating breakfast and waiting eagerly for the owl post. A dull roar of a hundreds or more owls flapping their wings sounded throughout the hall. Harry glanced over to see that his father's owl was perched in front of Sev. He watched Sev's face intently as he opened the letter, a worried looked passed over his face. And his eyes flicked up trying to seek out Harry. Their eyes locked for a moment before turning back to their own friends. Harry felt safe in he knowledge that his love would indeed do everything in his power to help.  
  
"Jamie. What's wrong? You have been acting all spaced." Si asked. Reme nodded as if to say that he to was worried. Harry gave them his best smile.  
  
"Nothing's wrong. I am just thinking." He smirked mischievously.  
  
"Oooo tell us more." They both chorused. Harry put on his best dejected look.  
  
"Well actually there is nothing to tell, I 'was' interrupted after all." His two friends faces fell. "I guess we will just have to come up with something together then." Reme and Si wore twin looks of mischievousness. The three sat in silence thinking up a new prank. Well at least two of them were. The third was wondering how he was going to get Sev's reply.  
  
At the end of breakfast the trio got up and left the Great Hall. Sev following closely on his heels.  
  
"James." Severus sneered. Harry whirled to see Sev standing behind him. "I know it was you who turned our common room red." 'So that's what the others had been doing while I was away.'  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about. You git." Harry replied. Knowing all to well that they had to play up the animosity between them, no one could realise that something was untoward. Harry hadn't expected what happened next. Sev swung a punch at him. Soon it had degraded to fell on brawl between the two boys. But Harry couldn't help but relish the fact that he could lay his hands on Sev even if it was in this context.  
  
"My room midnight, password Grifindor." Sev hissed into his ear, so that no one could hear, or if they could hear they couldn't understand. Harry nodded almost un noticeably.  
  
Harry felt hands on his shoulders; Remus was pulling him off of Sev. Harry got to his feet and shook off Reme's hands and glared at Sev who had also got to his feet.  
  
"You think this is over slime ball." Harry shouted. Sev sneered.  
  
"No Grifindork, this is far from over. I swear I will make you pay for this."  
  
"Boys!" A shrill voice called. Mcgonigal had just entered the corridor. "What do you think you are doing?" The guilty pair stood frozen. "Mr Potter, Mr Snape. Follow me. Now." The two of the followed her without a word.  
  
************************  
  
Professor Mcgonigal looked at the two boys sitting in front of her. She had always wondered why there was such animosity between the two. They were in rival houses but somehow they had managed to make it a personal battle.  
  
"Now boys what was that fight all about?" She asked coldly. Both boys fidgeted uncomfortable in their seats refusing to answer. 'Now that's new' she thought. Normally they were both incredibly keen to blame the other.  
  
"I don't have all day." She added.  
  
"Do I need a reason? He is a Slytherin. Its all the reason I need." Harry stated adding a mental apology to his love. That seemed to set the ball rolling and insults were flying back and forth between the two boys. But the insults meant nothing to them, if anything they seemed to be taken as terms of endearment. They were like promises, promises of what could be between them.  
  
"Boys!" The professor howled. They both stopped mid insult and there mouths snapped shut in unison. Harry looked at her apologetically, while Sev just wore his usual sullen mask. "I have had enough of your constant bickering. I will talk to Professor Aquilina about this and we will work an adequate punishment for you both. You may leave now."  
  
The two boys breathed a sigh of relief and bolted from that room quicker than anyone had seen them move before.  
  
*************  
  
"We have to use tried and tested band of Marauder mischief. Can't let the family down can I. I am sure Si would love to help us get our own back on the twins." James told Ron. Ron's eyes lit up.  
  
"Our very own Marauder." He almost squealed in delight. James smiled if only he knew that here were really two marauders for the price of one. James smirked if the whole school knew that they were in the presence of two Marauders they would fall at their feet. James' eyes darkened, he remembered what was about to happen to him. If they knew he stood up to Voldemort that was what they would worship him for. 'To know just how and when you were going to die really is a bitch' he thought bitterly.  
  
James led the way to Si's hidden quarters in the castle. The door opened to James' whispered command. Si looked at the intruders and smiled broadly.  
  
"We need your help. Marauder mischief to be precise." James smirked at his best friend. Si's smiled broadened.  
  
"Just tell me the victim and I will do my best."  
  
"Fred and George Weasly."  
  
"Well I have just the thing. They will know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Marauder Mischief."  
  
***************  
  
With two Marauders on the case a plan was quickly devised. Spiked pumpkin juice would do jut the trick. And what this pumpkin juice would do. Well it would turn the Weasly Twins into girls!  
  
James and Ron watched the twins eagerly at dinner that night. So was sorely disappointed that he had to miss out on all the fun and games but it would have caused quite a stir if a wanted criminal arrived at dinner. James held his breath as simultaneously Fred and George took a sip of their pumpkin juice.  
  
The effects were instantaneous and spectacular. Fred's ginger locks were now well down to his shoulders, his normally handsome face was that of a beautiful girl and lets just say he had breasts that ay self respecting girl would be proud of. George looked much the same with one exception he looked pregnant.  
  
James burst into hysterical laughter at the two boys horrified expressions.  
  
"So George who is the Lucky father?" he asked while gasping for breath. The Twin turned a ghastly shade of red. James earned a pointed look. George looked to all concerned about 7 months pregnant. 'Shit' he thought. 'That would have been about the same time as he was going out with my son.'  
  
"This is not funny Potter." Fred growled.  
  
"Au contraire. It is hilarious." James said smirking quickly regaining his composure. "But do not worry the spell will wear off in a couple of hours." James glanced at George. "The pregnancy should also become non existent as well. But I hope you have learned your lesson, unprotected sex is bad." James chided playfully, not caring to remember that his son had part in the act. George still looked as though he was going to be sick, which could very well be true. He was pregnant after all. James leaned closer to George. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't know this." Meaning the pregnancy "would happen." George smiled faintly.  
  
"Don't worry about it. It is about time we got a taste of our medicines." James smiled in return. And all seemed well in Grifindor once again, except for the two female Weasly twins that is.  
  
On the other side of the room, a Slytherin was glaring at the laughing Grifindor's. His thoughts filled with ways to make 'the boy who lived' pay. Pay for what had happened to his parents. Pay with his blood. 


	14. saviour

Part fourteen.  
  
Harry pulled his invisibility cloak tightly around him. He smiled briefly. He was about to go and visit his love then everything would be all right again. The corridors were deadly silent as he walked. Even peeves, the ever rowdy, seemed to be missing. If Harry had been anyone else he would have been afraid but his Gryffindor bravery never let him down.  
  
He made almost no noise as he ran lightly to the Slytherin dungeons. No that it really mattered anyway. The only person that always seemed close to catching him was the person he was going to meet.  
  
Harry rested his back against the doorframe as he tried to catch his breath. Finally he had his breathing under control and he whispered the password.  
  
"Gryffindor." The door swung open and his eyes swept the room. Sev lay slouched on his bed, one leg hanging casually over the side. He smirked playfully.  
  
"Enjoying the view." He whispered. Harry nodded vehemently. As Sev sprang to his feet, with the agility of a cat. Sev stalked over to him and put his mouth close to his ear. "Good." He whispered. Harry shivered slightly.  
  
"Sev you have help me." He murmured. Sev stood back slightly and looked Harry straight in the eye.  
  
"Always." Harry smiled weakly  
  
"I knew you would." Sev took Harry's hand and pulled him across to the bed and gestured to sit down. Sev leant against the headboard and Harry snuggled into his arms.  
  
"Tell me what you need." Sev instructed gently.  
  
"My father was planning on becoming an Animagus." Sev drew a breath sharply. "He Sirius Remus and Wormtail have already taken the required potion. Without the transformation would be impossible and then they will know that I am not James." Sev ran his hand over Harry's hair.  
  
"So I take it that you want me to help you make the potion." Harry nodded. "I would be willing to do it for you but I don't know how."  
  
"That's not a problem. I have all of my fathers research, the ingredients and instructions just not the skill to brew it myself. It took them a dozen attempts to get it right. I don't have enough time for that." Sev kissed Harry gently on the forehead feeling the roughness of the scar under his lips.  
  
"I will do everything in my power to help you." He whispered. 'I would do anything at all for you' he added silently. Harry smiled sleepily.  
  
"I love you," he murmured before falling fast asleep in his love's arms.  
  
"I love you too." Sev whispered and watched Harry sleep.  
  
*****************  
  
Sev crept up behind Harry in a deserted corridor. A vial with a luminous blue potion in it clutched in his hand.  
  
"I have a present for you." Harry spun round quickly. And spotted the vial. He smiled.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"My pleasure." Sev purred. "But lets not go into details here, we are alone for now but who knows how long that will last. Will you be round tonight?"  
  
Harry nodded of course he would be; he had been round every night for the past two weeks. Ever since he had fell asleep in Sev's arms. Harry discovered that it was the only way he could sleep properly. No nightmares plagued him as they had done previously.  
  
"Did yo take the potion?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes I did. A Good potion maker always tests his own work."  
  
"Jamie." A voice called out. Harry leapt away from Sev just as Si rounded the corner.  
  
"Watch where you are going Grifindork." Sev snarled and hurried off down the corridor.  
  
"Well he was a breath of vile air." Si muttered. "Jamie the coaches are just about to leave for Hogsmead." Si smiled excitedly.  
  
"Great" Harry replied, fingering the potion vile in his pocket. "I'll be right up. I need to go to the bathroom first." He groaned inwardly at the lame excuse. But it was the best he could come up with. Si nodded and bounded off.  
  
Harry scanned the bathroom quickly. After ensuring no one was there he pulled out the potion vial. In one mouthful he downed the contents. It tasted absolutely vile. He spluttered slightly. He moved over to the sink to get himself a glass of water but he didn't make it. He stooped and clutched his stomach in agony. His eyes had closed themselves a vision of a stag was burned on his eyelids. But in the background there was a lion, almost to small to see.  
  
The pain in his stomach eased and he got slowly to his feet, leaning over the sink  
  
"Why didn't he say anything?" Harry growled. He loved Sev with a fearsome intensity but sometimes he hated that man.  
  
'The boy who lived' didn't give much of a thought to what he saw. That there were two animals instead of one. No, his only thoughts were for the fact that his friends would come looking for him at any moment. 


	15. bitter

Authors Note: Thanx for all the great reviews. I love ya guys. Sorry this chapter is so short. But I want to wait for the next chapter to write anything else. Hehehe. I am also sorry it is crap, I just couldn't get it right hence the reason it has taken so long. Soz.  
  
Part Fifteen:  
  
Blaise Zabini wrung his hands together. Sweat was trickling down his back. For all his posturing he had never done anything truly 'bad' before. But things were about to change. He had to make the bastard pay. Harry 'God Dammed' Potter needed to be dealt with. Because of him the poor Slytherin was left without parents. They had been carted of to Azkaban. Blaise didn't stop to think that it wasn't directly Harry's fault. Harry was the figurehead of the war against Voldemort and would be treated as such. He would suffer for the sins of all. Blaise didn't care that he would be put in Azkaban for this, his life was over anyway. Dumbledore wouldn't let him stay with nobody to pay his fees. There was no one willing to take this child of a death eater in. His life was over. Being a Death Eater orphan on the streets was a fate worse than death. He would be anybody's meet. He would be used and abused for anyone's pleasure. Yet Dumbledore would not let him stay. Not unless he would pledge his allegiance to him. Which was something that Blaise was unwilling to do. He was his only master. He would go down on bended knee for anyone. Least of all the fucking 'boy who lived'.  
  
Jamie was late for Transfiguration. Again. He rounded the nearest corner in a dead run. And collided with Blaise.  
  
"Watch where you stand." Jamie grunted, the breath having been knocked out of him. Blaise looked at him with a burning hatred. He pulled his wand out of his pocket.  
  
"Potter." Blaise snarled. And Jamie took a step back. He had never been faced with such unbridled hatred before.  
  
"Whoa, Zabini. You wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning.  
  
"No, but that is not something you will never have to worry about. I'll make sure you never wake up again." James looked wildly at the boy in front of him. "Avad.  
  
*******************  
  
The four marauders stood in a circle.  
  
"So we are all ready." Si asked. He received three nods in return. "Ok then on the count of three. One. two. three."  
  
Harry concentrated on the Stag. He focussed his entire being on believing that he was a stag. There was no way that Harry could put what he was feeling in words. In escaped definition. It was like he was non corporeal like his body had just dissolved but yet he could feel 'everything' with amazing intensity.  
  
He blinked slowly in front of him stood a giant black dog and a small white rat. Reme stood to one-side tears of joy in his eyes. Harry lowered his head and saw that he no longer had feet he had hooves. He had made it. But something didn't feel right, didn't feel whole. He shook his head to try and dispel the feeling almost goring Reme in the process. Reme jumped back, laughing.  
  
"Watch it Prongs." Harry tilted his head to one side questioningly. Reme smiled. "Just seems to be a good name for you." And turning to Si. "You will have to be Padfoot, with those big feet of yours and Pete the only thing we can call you is Wormtail." The three animagi nodded, Harry being careful not to injure anyone. 


	16. Here kitty kitty kitty

Part sixteen:  
  
The door to Sev's room burst open. He didn't see anyone at first but there was a slight rippling effect as Harry threw off his invisibility cloak. Sev was greeted with the site of a very happy Animagus.  
  
"I did it." He squealed in joy. Sev pulled the other boy into his arms and gave him a tight embrace.  
  
"I knew you could do it me love." He whispered. "So what animal did you become?"  
  
"I am a stag." Harry replied slightly unhappily.  
  
"What is wrong?" Sev asked gently.  
  
"I don't know." He murmured, "I feel like I should have been something else. Something useful, something fierce." Sev smiled slightly.  
  
"Like a lion." Harry nodded as he remembered his vision. "Well you are the heir of Gryffindor are you not? Try and change into one."  
  
"But you only get one form. Why would I be any different?"  
  
"The heirs are different." Sev whispered, "Voldemort has two forms." At the mention of Voldemort his arms involuntarily tightened around Harry. Harry laid his head against Sev's shoulder.  
  
"What animal did you see?" Harry asked his love. Sev smiled slightly.  
  
"I will be a."  
  
*******************  
  
"Potter." Blaise snarled. And Jamie took a step back. He had never been faced with such unbridled hatred before.  
  
"Whoa, Zabini. You wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning.  
  
"No, but that is not something you will never have to worry about. I'll make sure you never wake up ever again." James looked wildly at the boy in front of him. "Avad.  
  
Zabini never had a chance to utter the ending of the terrible curse. A lightning fast black animal barrelled into him. James stumbled and fell against the wall. Watching the scene in front of him. On the ground lay the person the tried to kill him and top of Zabini sat a beautiful black panther. Zabini tried to move but the animal on his chest snapped his jaws perilously close to the boy's throat. The warning was as clear as day. 'If you move, I will rip out your throat.' The panther turned it's obsidian eyes onto he petrified form of James potter. And jerked its head in the direction of the Headmasters office. James got to his feet unsteadily, understanding perfectly what the animal wanted. He rushed off to get the headmaster.  
  
****************  
  
A majestic lion was parading around Severus's small room. He let out a small growl of triumph. The growl was mirrored by that of a sleek Panther.  
  
Harry watched his soulmate place about the room in his new form. He swore that he could almost see him smirking.  
  
The panther stood up on its hind legs and morphed into his human form. Sev grinned at Harry. A black panther, it was perfect. Everything he could have wished for in an Animagus form. A couple of minutes later a slightly dishevelled Harry was also grinning.  
  
"Sev it was amazing, it was better than when I became stag. This just feels so right." Sev pulled Harry into his arms and kissed him gently. "We need to think up an Animagus names for you" Harry whispered.  
  
"And one for you. You can't go by Prongs in both of your forms you know." Harry giggled slightly.  
  
"Yeh your right but lets think of yours first. Well you are a black panther. A stealthy, cunning animal. That can blend in with the 'shadows'." Harry had an odd glint in his eyes. "MMM that might do."  
  
"Harry, what are you thinking?" looking at his soulmate suspiciously. Harry smirked slightly.  
  
"Don't worry it is nothing bad." He gave him a quick kiss. "Just that Shadow would be a great name for you." Sev grinned.  
  
"Ok, I could get used to that. Now it's your turn." Sev tilted his head to one side "Now what name could I pick that would drive you insane. MMM. Well there is Leo but that is so cliché." Sev scratched his chin and then grinned broadly. "How's about Lightning." Harry's smile mirrored the one that Sev was wearing.  
  
"You failed." Harry said smirking.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Lightning wouldn't drive me insane; in fact I think it is perfect." With that he pulled his love into a mind blowing kiss. 


	17. Long for a Kiss

Part seventeen  
  
Dumbledore hurried along the corridor, taking all the short cuts known only to him. He had been called by a very scared looking James Potter. Dumbledore shook his head slightly. It had taken this accident to show him just how lucky there were to have Harry. James acted like a spoilt child, which in essence he was. James didn't have nearly as much strength as Harry. 'Not yet anyway' he thought sadly. By the time the show down with Voldemort came, James would be a pillar of steel. When you are handed a death sentence you are either strong or you go mad. Thank Merlin that James chose the prior option.  
  
Before him he saw a beautiful black panther sitting atop a student. Dumbledore looked at the scene sadly. He placed a hand gently on the soft fur of the panther. It is alright Severus you can get off of him now. The panther moved slowly off of the boy. The animagus sat on its hind legs and quickly morphed back into the raven haired professor.  
  
"Albus." He began but was cut off.  
  
"Severus you don't need to explain, I know what has happened here." He turned to the boy lying motionless on the floor. "Blaise please stand up." His voice full of sorrow. The boy stood up, fine tremors running over his body. "Follow me." Albus moved off down the corridor with Blaise following silently behind.  
  
Sev sat back against the wall. His knees pulled up to his chest. He slowly lowered his head to his hands and took a deep breath. He should have realised what Blaise was up to sooner, he was supposed to be their head of house. It didn't bear thinking about what would have happened if he hadn't got their in time. If James had died, his soulmate would never have existed and Voldemort would rule the world. And that would be a fate worse than death.  
  
*****************  
  
"Blaise." Dumbledore started. The boy was sitting in front of him, the fine trembling still showing. "How could you think I would abandon you?" The boy's eyes flashed.  
  
"I am a Slytherin." He said lifelessly as if that explained it all.  
  
"My poor child. I care for all my students equally. Though there is one house I prefer above the others. But contrary to popular belief it is not Gryffindor. No, the house that holds a special place in my heart is my house, Slytherin." Blaise's eyes widened. "But even if that was not the case, I would never have turned you away. You are not the first child to have been orphaned while attending Hogwarts and I fear you will not be the last. We have ways of proving for then. Especially in a case like yours, where sending you to an orphanage would have been disastrous."  
  
"But I am a Death Eater's child." He shouted. "I deserve Azkaban." Blaise stood only to fall to his knees sobbing. "Please. Please. Kill me, send me to Azkaban give me the Kiss. Please. I don't want. I can't. I want it to stop." Dumbledore knelt by the sobbing boy.  
  
"Child. No one deserves the kiss, especially not a child."  
  
"I do, I do." He screamed. "If I had killed potter they would have done it. If you don't have a soul you can't feel the pain." He ended in a whisper. Dumbledore took Blaise into his arms.  
  
"Child what have they done to you. To make you long for the kiss."  
  
"I can't serve Voldermort, I can't. I would rather die. But if I refuse him the things he will do are worse than death. I have seen what he has done to other Death Eater children. I was lucky I was raised by my gran until last year but Draco. Oh god. If they had done those things to me. I. I would have broken. But he is so strong. I only hope he is strong enough." Dumbledore sat back and looked at the boy. Clearly something very very bad had happened to the youngest Malfoy. But what to do about it? And what to do with the broken boy in front of him? There was no question of sending him to Azkaban. He needed help not punishment. If Harry was still here he could have helped but James was still to 'young' to deal with this situation. Draco was also of no use he was as much in need of healing as the Blaise. Ron would be out of the question, he was too judgemental. The only person he could think of was Hermione.  
  
"Blaise I will not send you to Azkaban. You will stay here at Hogwarts. You never have to leave I ask nothing from you except that you 'talk' to someone. Miss Granger to be precise. Mr Potter and professor Snape will tell no one of what has happened and the only other person to know will be Hermione." Blaise looked unsure of this agreement. He had no desire to befriend a Gryffindor. But Dumbledore was promising to keep him safe without having to join his stupid little order. He looked at the man still kneeling at his side.  
  
"ok." He whispered. Albus smiled internally, he hoped there was still hope for the boy.  
  
"You had better go to bed you must be exhausted. I will tell the others that you are feeling unwell." The boy nodded and left the room.  
  
As if on cue there was a knock on his door.  
  
"Ah Minerva. I would like you to send Mr Potter and Severus to my office please. And could you send Miss Granger to see me in twenty minutes." The professor blinked at him slowly. She had long ago given up trying to fathom how the headmaster seemed to know everything. She just accepted it. She nodded curtly and left the room.  
  
******************  
  
Harry let himself into the Gryffindor common room trying to be as quiet as humanly possible. Not caring to answer any awkward questions. Unfortunately luck was not on his side.  
  
"Hey Jamie. Where have you been?" Si asked bounding up behind him. Harry forced a smile at the question.  
  
"Well." He started. "I don't think I should be telling you this." This was true he shouldn't be as it was a lie. "But Dumbledore has been making me take extra classes to help me deal with 'you know what'" Si nodded not asking any further. He did know what. Help him deal with being the Gryffindor heir.  
  
"So you up for some marauder mischief?" Si asked grinning. A lightning fast change of subject to keep them away from sensitive issues. Harry Smiled.  
  
"Always..."  
  
Authors note: Man I'm sorry for the crapness of this chapter. I will try and do better next time. Hopefully getting on to map making. ( Just to let yas know I have started an email list thing to let people know when I update so if ya want to join it email me or click on the link on my profile page.  
  
Luv Hunter. 


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